Phyto-nutrients

Twittman@aol.com
Fri, 28 Aug 1998 01:36:38 EDT

Hi Sanet Folks,
Before I bring up the subject of phyto stuff I want to say that this is one
of the best sustainable ag think tanks I have ever encountered. The diversity
of players and topics is truly amazing. I have been following this forum for
several years and have often forwarded valuable information to farmers,
activists, fundraisers and teachers. This community has always been very
supportive of my requests and has been helpful many times solving problems and
referring me to experts. I thank you all for participating and being there
day in and day out. I don't care if a thread digresses into an area that
doesn't interest me. It takes a split second to go on to the next post and if
in the future I want to go back, the archives await. SANET, in my humble
opinion, has always been at the cutting edge of the social, economic and
practical aspects of "agri-culture".

Recently someone told me that there is a difference between food grown in an
organic process and food grown on a chemical based diet. The difference (this
person said) was the amount or even the presence of phyto elements. If this
is true, even slightly true, then the quest to differentiate organic food from
chemically grown food in a nutritional analysis may be able to move forward.
I understand that NASA Ames may be working on this concept to better the food
astronauts eat or may grow in space. My understanding of phyto elements is
very limited. I have read that they are the major contributer to color in
vegetables. Especially the red and ornge colors that macrobiotics favor.
Many supplement dealers attribute a nutritional value to phyto elements and
many supplements are based on this assumption. I have done several browser
searches and have come up with product advertising only.

Does anyone have any opinions or references on this subject? Is there
anyone that you know of that would be able to speak about this subject at a
large sustainable agriculture conference?

Thanks,

Thomas Wittman
Committee for Sustainable Agriculture
Ecofarm Conference Committee
Wattsonville, California

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